Relationship status
by GAfan1912
Summary: Believing true love is an impossibility, Callie no longer does relationships. But a chance encounter with a certain blonde makes her question whether she had it wrong all along.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N:** **Just as a heads up, Callie/other character get a little frisky in this chapter but it's not very bad. I would love to hear people's opinion about this chapter as hopefully my SL interests enough people. This wasn't the story I was initially going to write but this idea just got stuck in my head so the other one is put on the back-burner. **

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><p>Sitting at Joe's Bar, Callie nurses a beer as she partakes in another night of people watching. Not wanting to be called a stalker, Callie keeps her eyes roving as she watches her friends and colleagues happily socialise in this relaxed setting. Seeing her gang sitting in a corner booth, Callie half considers heading over but the occupants of the twisted sisters and their respective partners stops her in her tracks. Not wanting to be the fifth wheel to what is no doubt a lovely conversation; Callie decides to wait for her manwhore of a best friend to arrive so they can sulk in their singleness together.<p>

After what seems like an eternity, Mark finally arrives and slips onto the stool next to Callie. Signalling to Joe, Mark orders them another round as he turns to his best friend. "As much as I enjoy your company, why are we sitting by ourselves at the bar as you cramp my style?"

"And hello to you too," Callie replies in a sarcasm laced voice. "And what are you, twelve, as who past that age says cramp my style? Would you like to plait my hair and talk about girls while we wait for our soda pops?" Callie says as she twirls a strand of her hair around her finger to accentuate how childish she finds Mark's choice of saying.

Pouting slightly at Callie's attack, Mark tries to turn this argument around. "People say that when they are looking to score but don't stand a chance as the most beautiful person in the room is sitting at his side."

"Oh, can't take a little competition from me." Callie chuckles out. "The dark, mysterious Latina with curves to die for has become the better option than the greying old man who is a couple of years away from senility." The smirk on Callie's face makes Mark's smile falter as the touché subject of age is raised.

"Hey, be nice. I was giving you a compliment. And what's with you anyway? You're always so bitchy these days," Mark rebukes. "And my hair is not greying, it's got a nice touch of salt and pepper which gives me an air of sophistication. I'm the George Clooney of Seattle Grace," Mark adds as he self-consciously touches his hair.

"You just keep telling yourself that," Callie cuts in as she tousles Mark's hair. "I guess you'll say anything to ease your mind as McSteamy becomes a thing of the past."

"Hey, I've got a reputation to uphold as I'm a hard-core person who has sex wherever and whenever…," Mark voice trails off as he watches Lexie Grey enter the bar and join the twisted sisters' booth.

"Because all hard-core people have sex in an attic on a camp bed behind their best friend's back surrounded by Christmas decorations," Callie sarcastically replies as she watches Mark become a gigantic pile of goo as he shoots doe eyes at the younger Grey which she returns with interest.

"You do if you want to avoid your Shepherd's anger when he explicitly told me that she's forbidden fruit of the Seattle Grace. My face is too pretty to be punched again. He has a mean right hook," Mark whines as he drags his eyes away from his secret girlfriend.

"Maybe you should stop soiling the forbidden fruit with your…well...snake." Callie says as she gestures at Mark's groin. "Shepherd probably has the right idea because you're just going to corrupt her sweet, innocent mind with your perverted dirtiness. Although since she broke your penis, who's corrupting who is debatable. In your old age, you are already starting to fall apart." Callie replies as she starts to laugh into her beer as Mark's misfortune as the story had already become a legend in SGH. A minute of pleasure had become a lifetime of ridicule for the Head of Plastics. Owen still couldn't look Mark in the face after he'd been forced to do the procedure on a piece of anatomy he really hadn't wanted to see.

"I'm not old. I'm a mature specimen which has become a highly sought after commodity in the age of frat boys and metrosexual, megging wearing guys who take longer to get ready than you."

"I did treat a guy today who was wearing more eyeliner than I was and his pants were so tight that I did write low circulation to his nether region on his chart," Callie muses. "Back to Lexie, I still don't understand why you use her room in the attic instead of your hotel room?" Callie questions, showing more interest than she probably should in Mark's sex life. "Wait, do you have to go to the Grey's residence because she's too young to drive?" Callie adds as she tries and fails to hold in a snort of laughter.

"At least I have someone," Mark retorts, missing the pained look on Callie's face. "What's the flavour this week, Paulie or Pippa or something?"

"Piper," Callie replies as she cringes at the change in topic as her sex life is something Mark has been dredging up for weeks. "And it's been way more than a week. Since you are usually a walking stereotype of the commitment-phobic lifestyle, I don't think you should be lecturing me. You're secretly dating the sexed-up stalker intern who's young enough to be your daughter." Callie's tone of voice indicates that if Mark has half a brain cell in his head, he should drop the topic. Callie has developed an unhealthy hatred of of happy, shiny people who are in relationships as they unintentionally show how unfulfilling her own life is. "My relationship with Piper is easy, uncomplicated and most importantly – no one gets hurt." Callie adds as she refuses to meet Mark's look.

"The lady doth protest too much, me thinks. It almost sounds as if you are trying to convince yourself as much as me." Mark replies as he tries to get a reading on his best friend's mood. For months, Callie had moved from bed to bed as she took part in multiple friends with benefits relationships with this trend showing no sign of abating.

A buzzing from Callie's jean pocket stops the conversation as Callie holds her hand over Mark's mouth to prevent whatever else he wants to lecture her about. Reading the message, Callie lets out a small smirk as this small sentence has brightened her day. "Well, this has been fun but the doe eyes at Little Grey are getting a little old. I've got places to go and people to do."

"Torres, I think…" Mark starts to say but is immediately cut off.

"I didn't ask you to think and if I wanted that, I'd be best friends with Izzie Stevens because she is such a moral compass." Callie angrily replies as she collects her bag. "I'm not hurting anyone with this relationship. I'm not cutting LVAD wires, I'm not having an affair and I'm not having sex behind my best friend's back. So get the hell off your high horse and start living in the real world," Callie snaps out and immediately regrets her attack on Mark as he again adopts a wounded expression. The silence stretches between the usually chatty best friends as both digest Callie's rant.

In a sincere voice, Callie continues. "Look, I'm happy for you and Lexie. Really I am. But as a single person, I really don't want to hear about a together person. It makes me puke a little bit in my mouth with all the yay and happiness. So let me have this one."

Nodding his head in agreement, Mark concedes that Callie is an adult and can make her own decisions. Changing topics, Callie continues to speak, "But how serious are you about Lexie because you're hiding the relationship. If you really like her and want this to go somewhere more than a small bed in an attic - then tell Derek. Let her into your life because for you, she's worth the risk." Callie then slides off her bar stool and gulps down the remanets of her beer as she prepares to leave.

"You think so?" Mark questions, silently agreeing with Callie but is still lacking the courage to tell Derek the truth. "And is Piper worth the risk?"

"For me, no one is worth the risk," Callie sadly replies as she heads out of the bar as she pulls her coat tightly around her body.

XXXX

Knocking on the front door, it is quickly thrown open and Callie is pulled into the apartment without a preamble or greeting. Lips are slammed onto Callie's as the Latina struggles to get her bearings as she is romantically attacked by the occupant of this apartment. Never wanting to be topped, Callie pushes Piper against a wall and takes charge. Slipping her leg between red head's legs, Callie allows her to grind down as tongues tangle and teeth clash. Entangling her hands in Callie's hair, Piper lets out a guttered moan as she succumbs to being trapped against her apartment wall as Callie's hands and mouth take her to new heights.

"Hey Piper, how was work?" Callie cheerfully asks, leaning back slightly from the breathless woman in front of her. Piper props her head to the side as Callie begins to place a line of wet kisses down her neck. Callie knows that by changing nothing in her life, she will remain the perpetual third wheel in all situations. And there's only so many times Callie can listen to Lexie talk about her _lovely_ boyfriend before she snaps and throttles the young intern. Even though she could easily pled provocation, Callie doesn't want to turn to the dark side of the force. Considering Mark's advice, Callie begins to wonder if Piper is worth getting to know outside the four walls of her bedroom. They've been doing _this_ for months now and it's shown no sign of abating so maybe there is more to them than a physical connection. "Anything exciting happen?"

"If I wanted to talk about work, I'd be in a relationship," Piper replies. Obviously, idle chitchat isn't something Piper is interested in as she grabs the back of Callie's head and slams their lips back together. Callie and Piper had been hooking-up like this for several months after meeting one night at a local bar. The physical connection between the two of them was and still is electric – but that's as far as the relationship went. Piper claimed she didn't have time to maintain an emotional connection with a woman due to her time consuming and stressful job. As a litigation lawyer at one of the biggest law firms in the city, Piper prefers the uncomplicated sex-driven relationships. And Callie can't fault her logic.

Needing to breath, the two women split as Piper leads them in the direction of the bedroom. "Sorry, just being polite. I don't know what I was thinking," Callie responds with a metaphorical slap to the forehead as the door to a real relationship is well and truly slammed shut.

"Less polite, more nakedness," Piper says as she crawls onto the bed and gestures for Callie to join her. It's become crystal clear that Piper has a one tracked mind tonight as one particular itch needs to be scratched.

"That's something I can always go along with," Callie drawls out as she tries to get into the right mind frame to screw this woman into oblivion. Crawling on top of Piper, Callie makes quick work of her clothes in a routine that she has perfected over the previous months. Latching onto one of Piper's breasts Callie feels a shot of arousal pass through her body at the moans that falling from the red head's mouth. Since making this lifestyle choice, Callie has found she that she needed to be in control at all times to prevent her falling for the women gracing her bed.

As well as Callie kept her badass façade in place, Mark's comments about her continuous singleness had stung the Latina. But after the tumultuously failure of her relationship with both Erica and George, Callie had taken a page out of her best friend's book. Relationships were overrated and fraught with the risk of heartbreak. And since Callie's heart had been broken, crushed and destroyed in the last several years, relationships had become a thing of fairy tales and children's dreams.

Piper becomes increasingly aroused by Callie's ministrations while Callie struggles to keep her concentration on the task at hand as she finds her mind beginning to wonder. Entering Piper, Callie's mind inadvertently brings up the Hokey Pokey as her fingers move in and out of the woman beneath her. Musing to herself, Callie figures that next she'll be writing her shopping list – which reminds her that she needs to buy milk. Physically shaking her head to re-focus her mind, Callie passionately kisses Piper as lust becomes her dominant emotion - again. Looking down at the blissed out woman beneath her, Callie decides she is overcomplicating matters because everyone gets what they want out of this relationship. The feeling of Piper's nails digging into her back pushes the last remnants of doubt out of Callie's mind as she remembers why this type of relationship is preferred – no one gets hurt.

As Piper gets closer and closer to her orgasm, Callie swears she hears a door open and close in the apartment. For the briefest second, Callie mind conjures up imagines of a cheating spouse who push their mistress into their wardrobe to hide the evidence of the indiscretion. And then the mistress, hiking up their pants, would run into wardrobe making Callie smirk at this hilarious image. Not that such a solution would be much help because Piper's wardrobe is a walk-in and would be as useful as a Band-Aid on an amputation. Figuring that she is imagining the noise, Callie plunges her tongue back into Piper's mouth and Callie's drifts back into the world of this woman's body.

Mere seconds pass before Callie gets a tingling sensation up her spine that someone else is in the room. Callie's rhythm falters as she wonders if she has finally cracked as there is no logical reason other than supernatural for Callie to have this suspicion. Rolling off Piper's body, Callie turns to see a striking blonde standing at the foot of the bed and Callie gasps loudly in shock. Obviously this woman isn't a murderer as she has a key to the apartment but Callie is at a loss to who she is.

The blonde' eyes are open wide in shock as she surveys the scene before her of two very naked women who are clearly doing the horizontal tango. The only noise in the room is the heavy breathing of the two naked women as Callie's chocolate eyes clash with the brilliant blue of the blonde's. Still obvious to their audience, Piper flaps her hand around trying to drag Callie's fingers back down to where she needs it most. But Callie is having none of this continuation and swats Piper's hand away. As Piper is still coming down from the high and is in no condition to speak, Callie feels that she should say something to the intruder.

"Ah, hello? Who are you?" Callie blushingly asks as she tries to cover her nakedness with a sheet. Callie is quite adventurous in the sheets – but a third party watching is just too far for her.

Pointing at Piper, the blonde says "Her fiancée," as her eyes fill with unshed tears. Callie's heart plummets to her feet and she feels physical sick as she glances between the two women. Her words to Mark about _no one_ getting hurt in this relationship have well and truly bit her in the ass as her assumption had just be proven wrong. Suddenly, that walk-in wardrobe is looking mighty comfortable as a place to hide as Callie feels like she's just been dropped into the twilight zone. At those two little words, Callie's mouth becomes void of all moisture as she can only fathom the pain the blonde is experiencing. Callie is normally in the blonde's position; a woman who can do nothing but watch her relationship come crumbling down around her.

Hearing another voice, Piper slowly returns to the land of the living and opens her eyes. The air is ripped from her lungs as she comes face to face with her fiancée. "Arizona…" Piper quietly whispers as she is stunned into silence as her little something-something on the side is now out in the open for everyone to see. All movement in the room stops as the three women continue to stare to each other, unsure how to react to this awkward and unique situation.

Realising that she is the third wheel _again_, Callie lets out a snort of laughter at the irony which earns her a look of hatred from the blonde. Callie immediately bites her lip because truth be told, there's nothing funny about this situation. Callie has become the mistress in a relationship which is a title she's not comfortable having.

Having well and truly overstayed her welcome, Callie decides it's time to bid farewell to the happy couple. Callie doesn't want to be around when the shit hits the fan as the blonde looks like a scrappy player as anyone who grows up with the name Arizona knows how to play rough. Callie knows she shouldn't expect a wedding invitation in the mail for these nuptials. "I think I'm going to go," Callie says to the blonde as she tries and fails to locate her pants without exposing herself.

"You know what, you two stay and finish up because clearly I've interrupted. So please carry on," Arizona sharply replies as her eyes glisten with an ocean of unshed tears. Arizona shoots a death stare to the two women on the bed as anger is the only thing keeping her from crawling into foetal position and rocking herself to sleep.

True to her word, Arizona turns on her heels and storms out of the bedroom, slamming the door behind her. The loud noise spurs Piper into action as she makes move to chase after her fiancée. "You may want to put on pants," Callie calls out as for good measure, the front door is also slammed shut telling them the blonde has fled the apartment.

"Right…" Piper replies as she turns back to the naked woman who by right, shouldn't be here. "Look, I'm sorry about all this. I didn't mean to drag you into all this." Piper adds sheepishly, refusing to even look at Callie.

Callie has to physically bite her tongue to prevent an angry rant from falling from her lips. Callie has been in the same position as Arizona and knows a cheating partner is a crippling blow to any person. Piper is so far in the wrong that Callie can't even imagine how she gets up in the morning without being paralysed by guilt. "You didn't drag me into anything. It's not like I'm going to see either of you again. And if I had known you were engaged to be married, we would never have done this and you should never have done this," Callie replies as she gestures between the two of them. "So please don't ever contact me again. I'm a lot of things but I'm not someone's mistress," Callie adds as her voice hardens as she looks with unbridled disgust at Piper.

Piper doesn't even bother replying as she rushes out of the room, following in the footsteps of her fiancée. Even though Piper has a honey laced tongue, Callie can't see her talking her way out of this mess. Not that the Piper deserves a reprieve as anyone sane woman will throw her to the curb.

Left alone, Callie surveys the bedroom to see if missed something that indicates that Piper is engaged. Callie can't believe she'd been so naïve and trusted Piper. Coming up empty on evidence of a fiancée, Callie knows that she isn't at fault for end of another relationship but this knowledge does nothing to chase away the feeling of guilt.

Closing the apartment door behind her, Callie leaves the scene of the crime musing to herself she now know what it looks like to see a heart break. Luckily, Callie figures that she'll never see Piper or her fiancée ever again and this chapter of her life is closed.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Thank you for all the amazing reviews on the first chapter – so heartening to see everyone's interest. And all the alerts as well – thanks so much guys. So on with the chapter. **

Standing at the nurse's counter, Callie scrawls notes on a patient's chart as she tunes out the hustle and bustle of the hospital around her. Since last night's surprising development with Piper, Callie had been avoiding Mark to escape the cold hard reality of the situation – she had become someone's mistress. Callie really didn't want to see Mark's smug face when she is forced to admit that the statement of _no one gets hurt_ in the relationship had been so very, very wrong. It's not often that Callie is forced to eat her words and she really wished this wasn't the reason she had to.

After leaving Piper's apartment, Callie had suffered from a very restless night as her moral compass berated her for her actions. Words can't convey how guilty Callie felt about being the "other woman" in a relationship. All Callie can see in her mind is the pain radiating out of those brilliant blue eyes – and Callie will never be able to forgive herself for causing that hurt to an innocent victim. Even if Piper's relationship was on the rocks, no one deserves to be treated in such a callous way.

Although violence is never the answer, Mark may earn himself a chart in the face if he starts on with one of his lectures of the poor morals of Callie's life choices. Glancing up, it looks as if Mark's face has already come in contact with a wayward chart judging by his battered appearance. Suddenly, Callie's morning is looking slightly brighter as she's not the only one whose life has taking a turn for the worse. Once Mark gets close enough, Callie asks as she tries and fails to hide her cheerfulness, "What is wrong with your face? It's all mushed up and weepy."

Mark gingerly touches his face as he replies, "I took the superb advice you offered me last night about telling Derek about Lexie and I. I now have intimate knowledge of his right hook as Derek's reaction was as I had expected – physical."

"I'm sorry, but you did catch him at a bad time." Callie replies as she lays a comforting hand on the pouting surgeon's shoulder. The gossip mill had already spread the story of Derek being accused of murder after his radical operation technique on a patient.

"Boo hoo, we've all lost patients. But we're men and that doesn't give him to act like some frat boy. But I know what will make me feel better." Mark says as a lecherous grin spreads over his face. "Give me all the intimate details of your little rendezvous with Longstockings."

"Her name is Piper. I'm not dating Pippi Longstockings. And the fact that she's a children's character makes this slightly creepy," Callie growls, even though she know Mark gets the name wrong to illustrate his point on Callie's lifestyle choices. Since Mark became the shining example of a monogamous relationship, he has been unbearably vocal about Callie's private life.

"Whatever, the name isn't important," Mark continues with. "With a name like Piper, I would imagine that she's quite flexible. It's heading towards a stripper name. So details, Torres."

"It was fine. Definitely got the adrenaline coursing and blood pumping," Callie says as she brushes off Mark's question and pretends to be interested in the chart. Mark's ears prick up at this deflection and he decides to prod a little deeper.

"And…" Mark asks, causing Callie to huff in exasperation. Mark is like a small, immature child who wants candy or in this case, details of Callie's sex life.

"Well, it was fine until her fiancée came home and caught us in bed," Callie says under her breathe, even though she intends for Mark to hear. Mark's face adopts a comical expression of surprise before letting out a bark of laughter. Clapping his hands over his mouth, Mark attempts to hold him a snort as Callie picks up her chart and hits him on the shoulder.

"It's not funny Mark, I feel terrible. I use to that person at the end of the bed," Callie says with several hits to Mark's body. "I was the jilted lover who had unrequited love for my entire marriage because my husband pined after his best friend. I know how it feels and I wouldn't wish that on anyone else," Callie says as her voice hitches slightly as her gut clenches as the feeling of guilt consumes her body.

Seeing the remorse etched on Callie's face, Mark lays a comforting hand on her shoulder. "It's not your fault. You have nothing to feel guilty about because you didn't know that the fiancée existed. Did you?" Mark questions.

"No, the first I knew of her was when she stood at the foot of the bed. But I never exactly asked either. It wasn't like I was on top of her and asking about her relationship status," Callie responds.

"So you're a topper," Mark comments earning himself a withering look from Callie. "This isn't your weight to bear, Torres. It's not your fault as you didn't know. You didn't cheat. You need to let it go." At Mark's logic, Callie lets out a noncommittal grunt as she avoids his look of concern. Being the other woman in a relationship had just confirmed Callie's long held view that relationships are things of fairy tales. "Callie, don't beat yourself up about this," Mark pleads, not wanting his best friend to sink even deeper into the dark side of non-relationships. If Callie doesn't improve soon, Mark is going to get Bailey to organise an intervention as if Christina Yang can sustain a relationship – anyone can.

Staring down the corridor but not really looking, Callie ponders Mark's statement. Logically, Mark is right – Piper is the one that cheated and therefore the one at fault. But that does nothing to remove the crippling feeling of guilt as Callie was the other woman and she feels equally responsible. From experience, Callie knows that infidelity in a relationship is the kick in the guts that someone will never truly recovers from.

Musing to herself, Callie decides that celibacy is becoming an increasingly attractive life choice. But then a face down the hall throws Callie out of her analysis and puts her in a tail spin. Frantically pulling Mark in front of her, Callie glances around his body at the person she was adamant she would never see again.

"What are you doing?" Mark question as he is manhandled by Callie until he is standing awkwardly in front of her.

"Shhhh, she'll hear," Callie responds as she covers Mark's mouth with her hand. Double checking, Callie's worst fears are confirmed as that woman approaching from down the corridor is the fiancée – Arizona. Callie would recognise those brilliant blue anywhere. "That's her. The blonde approaching. She's the fiancée," Callie adds causing Mark to spastically twist his head around to catch a glimpse. "Try not to make it so obvious." Callie growls out as she too keeps her eyes trained on the woman.

The two surgeons watch as the blonde turns the corner and disappear from view. "Someone cheated on her?" Mark asks in a disbelieving voice. "Is Piper blind?"

"What? Of all the problems and issues that arise from that woman wearing the dark blue scrubs of an attending, your concern is how someone could cheat on her? She works here, Marcus Sloan, here!" Callie replies as panic creeps into her voice.

"Ahh… she's hot," Mark stutters out as Callie disintegrates into a crazy lady.

"The fiancée works here, Mark. I work with sharp implements. I'm dead. I'll have to start wearing Kevlar to work," Callie wails out. When George had cheated with Stevens, Callie had vividly imagined how scalpels would become impeded in the ex-model's body. Just a sly slip and she would be maimed for life and Callie couldn't see anything wrong with that.

"Chances are she works in a department that you have nothing to do with. Like Derm or something," Mark responds as he tries to find a silver lining to this surprising development.

"Damn," Callie exclaims with a slight pout as she starts to breathe a little easier because Mark is talking sense. "I hope she's in Derm as they have a really nice raspberry cordial."

"Or she may not be surgical," Mark adds as a pager interrupts their conversation. Glancing down at her hip, Callie sees that she is being paged to the ER.

"Ok, here are your instructions. Since you are the biggest gossip in the hospital, find out where she works. I don't care how. Just find out. But maybe keep your pants on as you just declared your undying love for Little Grey."

"Roger that," Mark replies with earns him a confused look from Callie. "I'm slipping into spy mode," Mark explains as if it's the most obvious thing in the world.

"Ok…just don't do anything stupid. And then come and tell me. Also, keep me away from LVAD wires and baked goods; I don't want to become any more like Stevens. Tackle me if you have to," Callie says with a small grin. "I had better go and answer this page," Callie adds as she jogs off in the direction of the ER.

"I'll make you proud Torres! Sloan over and out," Mark yells as he glances around for his first target.

Jogging in the direction of the ER, Callie's mind is in turmoil at the appearance of the fiancée. Callie has been in this exact situation before when her husband's affair would stare her in the face every day. What a way to make Callie feel inferior in every sense of the word. It had taken Callie months to find a level of acceptance that she had married for all the wrong reasons and that it just wasn't meant to be. But even now, Callie and Izzie kept their distance to avoid the painful memories of love that was taking away in the most brutal manner.

Stepping into one of the trauma rooms, Callie barks at one of the interns "What have we got?" A surgery is just what the doctor ordered to keep Callie's mind occupied and off the debacle her life has become. The sheer pace of movement in the room means that Callie's unsure of who is in charge and as an attending, she takes that role. One intern is setting up an IV line in the child's arm while another stabilises an injured leg.

"Eight year old, male child. Was a backseat passenger in a car in a multi-vehicle crash. Tenderness in abdomen area and fractured right femur are the noticeable traumas on the body," the intern quickly reports. "We've already cleared time for a CAT scan."

"Alright, page Karev and get an OR prepped," Callie says as she glances around the room to find the Peds attending on the case. And it's at that moment that Callie's world tips and time stops as she stares into the depth of those brilliant blues eyes. The fiancée is _so _not in the Dermatology Department unless a symptom of a broken leg is a skin rash. "Oh shit," Callie mumbles under her breathe as she checks the blonde's hands for sharp implements.

The blonde seems to be reacting no better as Arizona's mouth has dropped open in shock as she comes face to face with the mistress. The last time Arizona had seen this woman she had been desperately trying to find her pants as the horizontal tango with her fiancée had been interrupted. The chance of the mistress working at Seattle Grace is a statistical anomaly and Arizona pinches herself to ensure this isn't a nightmare. To Arizona, it seems as if the gods are playing a cruel joke on her and trying to make her an alcoholic by throwing this in her face. Vowing to show no emotions to this woman, Arizona breaks the staring contest as she prepares the patient for transport with not a single word uttered between the two of them.

"Dr Torres, Dr Torres," an intern yells out as they prepare to move the child and Callie is still staring dumbly at the blonde. Shaking her head to re-focus her mind, Callie pushes the appearance of Arizona to the back of her mind and steps back. There is a child to operate on and Callie can't be focussing on her lamentable private life. The two women successfully move the child without incident as they wait for the CAT scan to appear.

Sitting in the CAT office, the two women sit side by side as the blonde acts indifferent to Callie's presence. Last night, Callie had thought the blonde looked scrappy with her fiery responses to discovering the affair. But today, Arizona seems calm, collected and completely unconcerned that her fiancée's mistress is sitting next to her. Callie had expected a rant laced with insults or a good old fashion beating and instead she got ice, cold silence.

Arizona continues to stares straight ahead as Callie gives discreet side-ways glances in an attempt to get a reading on the blonde's mood. But before the scan appears, they are rudely interrupted by an out of breath Mark Sloan who is acting as if he had run a marathon. With his usual lack of social etiquette, Mark launches into what he has learnt about the fiancée after badgering some nurses. Mark doesn't notice Callie's desperate attempts to get him to shut up with hand gestures and "Shhh" sounds.

"So McHotties's name is Arizona Robbins and she just transferred here from Tacoma General. She's a Peds attending, so she's not in Derm. So just avoid Ped consults and you'll as fine as a mistress hiding inside a wardrobe," Mark rattles off as he finally notices the blonde sitting next to Callie. "Hello Dr Robbins," Mark drawls out as he runs his hand nervously through his hair. "How's life?"

"Just peachy…" Arizona replies as she shoots pointed looks at both surgeons as she wishes the ground would open her up and swallow her whole. Arizona had been congratulating herself on avoiding the situation but then this grey haired surgeon has bought the issue to a head.

"I'm Mark Sloan, Head of Plastics. And you already know Dr Torres, although you may not recognise her with clothes on," Mark says with a trademark grin. Mark can't help himself but bask in the awkwardness that he had created and figures he may as well go all in.

Grinding her teeth together, Callie fights against her natural instinct to kill Mark for his stupidity. "Sloan, you have overstayed your welcome. Go visit Little Grey in the Nursery," Callie snarls out.

"That's the last time I ever do something for you," Mark huffs out as he walks away. "Later Blondie," Mark calls back at Arizona. Before Callie can apologise for her and Mark's behaviour, the scans appear on the screen and both women switch back into surgeon mode. Callie's need to explain her actions will have to wait for a later date.

Transporting the child to the OR and scrubbing in all passes in a blur for Callie as Arizona returns to treating her with indifference. Arizona doesn't acknowledge Callie's existence in the room and simply goes about her business as the ultimate professional. Watching Arizona step into the OR, Callie is left along with her bemusement.

"What is this woman? The ice queen?" Callie mutters to herself as she follows after Arizona as no normal person can act so unconcerned. The two surgeons briefly talk about their patient as they start their own operations on the small body. But once they have started, the OR becomes deathly quiet. For the first time in her attending career, Callie doesn't turn on music in her OR as it just doesn't seem right considering the circumstances.

As the silence stretches in the operating theatre, Callie has the urge to say something, anything to make this less awkward. Arizona is stuck in her presence for the foreseeable future and surely a nurse would intervene in the blonde starting attacking her with a scalpel. "I'm so sorry…" Callie begins to speak as she places the pins to reset the child's leg.

"No, no, you will not hold me hostage and make me listen to your apology. I am removing the spleen of a child. That's why I'm here. That's the only reason. I'm not here so you can feel better," Arizona responds, glaring at the Latina at the other end of the table. The nurses stop moving as they watch the two surgeons talk as they hope for a titbit of gossip.

"But…"

"We operate in silence," Arizona cuts off sternly, leaving no room for argument and Callie concedes defeat. The OR returns to its initial state of silence – which is just the way Arizona wants it. She doesn't want to be reminded of her fiancée's indiscretion even though it is staring at her in the face.

Closing up, Arizona surveys the OR and sees that Callie is also finished and is waiting for her. "Seriously," Arizona mumbles into her mask it seems as if Callie is enjoying making her feel uncomfortable. Arizona expected the Latina to run to the hills but Callie is doing the complete opposite. But there is one thing that Arizona needs to know before she faces Piper tonight. After finding out about the affair, Arizona had no contact with Piper other than a million unanswered calls, unread texts and unheard voicemails clogging up her phone. But tonight had been pencilled in as the showdown and Arizona just needs one answer.

Scrubbing out together, the two women stand side by side as Arizona decides to ask her one question. "Just tell me one thing because you owe me that much," Arizona quietly says as she breaks the deafening silence. "How long?"

Callie frowns at the question as there is no way to lessen the blow that is coming. "Three months or so," Callie responds as Arizona backpedals as if she has been physically hit. Callie holds out her hands to steady the blonde but this causes Arizona to shrink back even further. Arizona takes on the pallor of death as she sinks to scrub room floor, shocked at the length of the deception. Arizona had expected a single incident or a week at most – not months.

Arizona knew that her relationship with Piper was on the rocks and a wedding between the two of them was becoming less and less likely. They had started to live separate lives and neither party seemed to notice or mind. But Arizona still can't believe that she had been so blind. Her fiancée had been screwing another woman for months while Arizona had commuted back and forth to Tacoma General. Arizona had well and truly been played the fool.

Callie feels the need to explain herself as Arizona hides her head in her hands. "I'm so sorry, I didn't know that you existed," Callie explains and immediately realises that this reason is really not going to put the blonde's mind at ease. "It didn't mean anything to me, it was just sex," Callie adds, knowing that the words offer little comfort. Cheating is cheating – whatever way it is worded.

"Please, just leave me alone," the blonde whispers out, still not directing any anger at Callie. Seeing the clearly distressed woman on the floor, the last thing Callie wants to do is leave. But from experience, Callie knows that Arizona will need time to process this new piece of information.

"Do you want me to call someone?" Callie asks, as right at this point in time; Arizona needs a shoulder to cry on. When George cheated, Callie had Mark and Christina to pick her up off the floor.

"No, there's no one," is Arizona's muffled reply as Callie stands awkwardly in the doorway. As sweet as Callie's offer is, it just nails home the reality of the situation that Arizona is all alone in Seattle. Working out at Tacoma, Arizona's free time was spent commuting between the hospital and their apartment. In the eight months she'd been living in Seattle, Arizona had made no friends which hadn't come from an introduction from Piper. And the last thing Arizona wants to do is seek comfort with one of Piper's friends as lawyers always think someone else is to blame. Arizona is all alone in this world with no one to help pick her up off the floor. With one last glance at the forlorn figure on the floor, Callie lets the scrub room door swing shut returning the women to their own personal purgatory.

The rest of the day passes in a blur of Mark badgering her to talk about her feelings and Callie secretly stalking Arizona. Callie felt drawn to the blonde and would do anything to lessen her pain, although the blonde hid it well. The way that Arizona interacted with the kids on the Ped's floor brought a smile to Callie's face. Arizona had a way with children that had left Callie speechless – she played games with them, watched cartoons and alleviated their fears when needed. It is clear to Callie that Arizona is that one in a million person who must have some sort of super magic smile because kids generally made terrible patients.

But finally the day is done and Callie plans on holing herself up in her apartment and pretending that all is good and right in her life. Seeing the elevator doors begin to close in front of her, Callie quickly slips through so she can escape the hospital and all its drama. But the drama is now staring at her with those brilliant blue eyes. Standing awkwardly next to the woman whose life she inadvertently destroyed, Callie wonders if small talk would be appropriate. "So I had an interesting day, how was yours?" Callie asks, playing nervously with her jacket sleeves.

"We don't have to do this, talk about what happened. I don't want to relive the moment and from your expression last night, you don't want to either. It's a big hospital, lots of floors, lots of places to hide. I'm quite happy to pretend that I don't know you and haven't seen you naked," Arizona replies as she keeps her emotions well hidden from the Latina as her side. Since realising that her nightmare has followed her to work, Arizona had been trying to get a reading on Callie's angle.

"You're not hearing me Arizona. I know that everything in your life is kind of insane right now. But I figured even you could use a friend. And I make an awesome friend and even greater drinking partner." At Callie's offer, Arizona remains silent and stares at the elevator doors. "And now you probably think I'm insane…" Callie adds at the lack of response.

Finally the door dings open on Callie's floor and the Latina reluctantly concedes defeat for a second time and heads off. Arizona has made it perfectly clear to Callie that she wants nothing to do with her. Not the Callie blames her as she if after all her fiancée's mistress.

Seeing the Latina leave, Arizona's façade begins to crumble as her emotions begin to overwhelm her again. But before the doors can close and return Arizona to her solitude, an arm is stuck back through the gap as Callie gives it one more roll of the dice.

"I know you said you aren't interested. But here's my phone number if you need anything," Callie says as she quickly scrawls her number on a prescription pad. "So if you need to talk, a shoulder to cry or someone to beat up…I have more perspective on this situation than you might think." Callie says as she offers the piece of paper to the blonde. Seeing the sincerity shining out of Callie's eyes, Arizona takes the offered piece of paper even though she has no intention of using it.

"Thanks," Arizona mumbles out as the doors close for good this time.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Sorry for the delay in updating – my life got thrown out of the window with a switch in jobs. But it's starting to settle down and I'm getting my life back. As always, thanks for the reviews. And on with the story because my life isn't that interesting.**

Walking out of the hospital, Arizona shoves the piece of paper deeper into her pocket as she still has no intention of taking the Latina up on her offer. Instead, Arizona's mind turns to the lamentable state of her relationship - if it can even be called that now. With every step that Arizona takes away from the hospital, the anger she feels towards Piper slowly diminishes into resignation. Arizona had been a seething pile of rage for the entirety of her shift and had vividly imagined the scene where Piper is berated for her betrayal. Arizona wanted Piper to feel the pain she was experiencing. But the cool night air clears Arizona's mind of irrational thoughts of revenge allowing her to examine the relationship with a clear mind. She and Piper had been on a downward spiral for months and neither had bothered to put on the breaks to stop the demise of their relationship. Somewhere along the way, both women had started to comfortably live separate lives.

And then there was also the move to Seattle which had been a disaster in the making. A last ditch effort to make the relationship work, but it never had any chance of success. Arizona knows that it's time to face the cold hard reality of the situation – she no longer loves or wanted to be a relationship with Piper. Raised to be a good man in a storm, walking away from a relationship is a foreign action to Arizona. This engagement has become another failure in her life which is a bitter pill for the blonde to swallow as she had nothing to show from this except a broken heart.

Once Arizona resolves herself that it's time to walk away, she suddenly feels as if she is coming up for air for the first time in months. Her upcoming conversation with Piper will go one way, and one way only. When Arizona leaves their apartment tonight, she will no longer have a ring on her finger, and that will lift a weight both mentally and physically. Arizona refuses to spend another night in a place that has sucked the life right out of her like some fabled vampire with sparkly skin and perfectly tousled hair.

Arriving back at the scene of the crime, Arizona expects to come home to an empty apartment forcing her to wait for hours for the pleasure of Piper's company. Piper had never been the most punctual person which had always grated Arizona's Marine upbringing. But as promised, Piper is sitting on the couch waiting for Arizona. The sorrowful and somewhat timid expression in Piper's face indicates that these women are on very different wavelengths. It seems inconceivable to Arizona - but it appears that Piper wants to fight for the survival of this relationship.

Hearing the front door open, Piper stands and nervously dries her hands on her skirt. Giving Piper a once over, Arizona is met with a sight that use to make her swoon – her fiancée in a power suit. The pencil skirt accentuates Piper's legs and those black pumps use to make Arizona putty in her partner's hands. And Arizona can't forget those stiff collared blouse that use to make her want to undo those pesky buttons to get to what is tastefully hidden underneath. But Arizona can't even remember that last time she swooned at Piper as that part of their relationship is well and truly over. Dropping her bag at the door, Arizona prepares herself to end her loveless engagement.

"Hey, how was your day?" Piper nervously says as she slowly approaches her fiancée and tests the water in an attempt to get a reading on the blonde's mood.

"Fine," Arizona replies in a monotonous tone of voice. Piper's face falls slightly as the word "fine" has always been code for a topic of conversation that should remain dead and buried. It's become clear to Piper that small talk isn't going to be an effective method of buttering up Arizona.

"I'm so sorry Arizona. It was an accident and…" Piper begins as she prepares to sweet talk her way back into Arizona's good books. A few sugar-coated words and light caresses would usually get Piper out of the doghouse and she believes this time will be no different. Countless times during their relationship Piper has forgotten an important event, shunned Arizona or down right ignored her as work took precedence over everything else. But Piper has a honeyed tongue that could sell ice to Eskimos and Arizona eventually forgives all indiscretions. But this time, Piper is in for the shock of her life.

"I don't really care," Arizona responds, brushing off the apology without a second thought. "I just want to know one thing, and I deserve an honest answer. How long?" Arizona asks, repeating the question that she asked Callie back at the hospital.

"That was the only time, I swear." Piper answers as the lie falls easily from her lips.

Hearing the deceitful response, Arizona realises that she is done in every sense of the word and there is no point dragging out this façade any longer. Her relationship with Piper has been over for a long time as they successfully made the transition from lovers, to friends and finally to roommates with no benefits. Pulling the engagement ring off her finger, Arizona sits it on the table. "It's over Piper," Arizona says in a calm voice as there is no indecision about this. But that doesn't stop the shooting pain from Arizona's heart make her feel as if she'll be crippled for life.

"Baby, I love you…" Piper responds as she moves closer to Arizona and takes her hand, believing that Arizona is bluffing. Those three little words, those eight letters have come too late to save this relationship.

"You also said you loved me last week but that didn't stop you from having an affair," is Arizona's sharp retort as she steps backwards out of her ex-fiancée's grasp. "We need to know when it's time to walk away and that is an action that is long overdue."

"We can fix this," Piper adds, changing tactics as the sweet talk in being surprisingly ineffective.

"No we can't because I don't want to fix this," Arizona says gesturing between the two of them. "Somewhere along the way we started masquerading as fiancées. People cheat because something is missing. You cheated because we were in a relationship in name only. There's nothing left between us to save."

"It's just the distance Arizona. You work closer now. We can fix this," Piper responds, desperation leaking into her tone and panic starts to take over her features as the lawyer in her realises that this is a losing battle.

"There's nothing left to fix," Arizona amends. "I don't know who you are when you are sleeping with someone else. So I'm ending this so you can do as you please with a clear conscious," Arizona adds as the calmness in her voice tells Piper that the blonde is deadly serious.

"One indiscretion doesn't give you the right to walk away from a three year relationship. We are in a relationship Arizona. You don't get to unilaterally decide to end an engagement without a discussion!" Piper hurls at Arizona, needing the blonde to reconsider. And it's this lie that causes the bubble to burst as anger consumes Arizona.

"You've been screwing that woman for months," Arizona accuses as the mask of remorse slips from Piper's face. "How can you stand there and lie to my face? Say that you love me when you brought a woman into our home, our bed? You threw this away – not me. So don't you dare twist this around and make me the bad guy who's breaking your heart."

"Arizona…" Piper stammers out as she realises she has backed herself into a corner. Piper struggles to comprehend how her fiancée knew the truth. "Please, just let me explain. She meant nothing to me. You are the one for me."

"Explain?" Arizona exclaims in a shocked voice. "How do you explain an affair? Did you think about me when you let that woman screw your brains out? Did you cordially invite her into the bedroom and ask her to refrain from screaming too loudly as your fiancée might make an appearance?"

"It wasn't like that," Piper pleads as she sees the end of her relationship staring her in the face as tears become to fall from eyes. "We can get the passion back. We can get better."

"No!" Arizona yells, refusing to feel sorry for the woman before her. "I don't love you Piper. I haven't loved you for a long time. And you can't seriously be in love with me because the only thing I gave you was stability. This affair was simply the final nail in the coffin of a long dead relationship. Let us go Piper!" Arizona turns to leave the apartment as all that needs to be said has been done.

"Don't you dare walk away from me. I don't deserve that!" Piper yells in a final, desperate attempt to prevent Arizona's departure.

"Deserve?" Arizona questions as she turns back around. "You don't deserve anything from me. You cheated. You treated me like a second class citizen in my own relationship. And if you have half a brain cell in that head of yours you'll let us go. Let us go Piper, please. Because nothing good can come from fighting for us. We are over," Arizona says as she walks out of the apartment, never having the intention of returning. And Piper knows better than to chase after her.

XXXX

It's not till she's down on the street and been aimlessly wandering the streets of Seattle for over an hour that Arizona realises that her bag is still in of the floor of their apartment. With nothing but her mobile phone, Arizona has put herself in an awkward predicament. She had promised herself that she would never return to the apartment and her life with Piper but without money or a car – the blonde's options are limited. Sleeping on the streets isn't a habit Arizona wants to develop especially since her overactive mind imagines murderers hiding around every corner as she somewhat fearfully glances around at her surroundings. With no one in Seattle to call, Arizona begins the reluctant journey back to the apartment to break her personal promise of returning to her home.

Stuffing her hands into her pockets, one comes in contact with a scrunched up piece of paper. Pulling the paper out, Arizona sees Callie's number scrawled hastily on the back. Remembering the sincerity and pain radiating from those soulful brown eyes, Arizona whips out her phone and punches in the ten digits before common sense takes over. It's so illogical to seek help from the mistress, but Arizona has nowhere else to turn and takes the lesser of two evils.

"Hello?" a husky voice answers in a questioning tone as unknown numbers are usually salesmen.

"Hey it's Arizona and…well…I could really use that friend and a lift," Arizona says as she wonders briefly if she has gone insane. The silence stretches down the line and Arizona begins to think that she's overstepped the line between mistress and ex-fiancée. "Ah…it was a joke, wasn't it? I'm going to go," Arizona stutters out as she prepares to hang-up having successful made a fool of herself.

"No!" Callie exclaims as the shock of receiving a call from Arizona had stunned her into silence "Where are you? I'll come collect you," Callie adds as she tries desperately to keep Arizona on the phone. Callie is undeniably drawn to the blonde and wants to help in any way possible.

Giving directions, Arizona settles down on a bus stop bench as she waits for her knight in shining armour to appear. Having no true friends in Seattle, Arizona knew she needed someone to lean on – even if it's just for tonight. Arizona is someone who keeps everything bottled up inside so she isn't planning on bearing her heart to the Latina. But Arizona does need the human contact and a place to spend the night as sleeping on bench is just sad.

As she waits for Callie to show up, Arizona feels a weight lift off her shoulders as Piper is no longer a part of her life. Until Piper had cheated, Arizona couldn't imagine a life without her. But now, Arizona can't imagine a life with her and can't believe she wasted so many months in a fruitless, loveless relationship. Hindsight has truly given Arizona 20/20 vision and Arizona swears she will never return to the way she was. A lonely life is infinitely better than an unhappy one and Arizona plans on embracing her new life. Drifting off into her mind, Arizona begins to plan what she needs to do to restart her life as a single woman.

A dark coloured car turns onto the street and pulls Arizona out of her list making of tasks. The headlights make Arizona squint her eyes against the bright light as she tries to discern whether the approaching car is Callie's. Arizona suspiciously watches a T-Bird creep closer in a stalkerish manner as her heart rate goes through the roof. Chastising herself for watching that SVU marathon, Arizona's mind conjures up a thousand different gruesome images. Finally the car stops about 10 feet from the blonde and the motor continues to idle and Arizona begins to feel as if a thousand creepy eyes are watching her.

"Are you going to get in the car or continue to sit there like a stunned mullet," Callie calls out as Arizona exhales loudly as no murderer is chasing after her tonight.

Slipping into the passenger seat Arizona mumbles, "I thought you were a rapist," which earns her an incredulous look from Callie so Arizona elaborates. "It was slow moving car that crept closer to me. Then in those TV shows, someone jumps out of the car and grabs a person off the street who never sees the light of day again."

"Ok, I concede that my approach may have come across as creepy. But in my defence, your directions were less than stellar and I got lost twice trying to find this damn street," Callie says as she examines the blonde sitting beside her. Not to be outdone, Arizona does the same and becomes even more confused about the oddity that is Callie Torres. The Latina is a woman who has no strings attached relationships, befriends fiancées and picks women up off the street. Something just doesn't add up.

"You only date superheros?" Arizona asks in a bemused voice as she reads the pattern on Callie's pyjama pants. Callie is adorned in short pyjama bottoms which are covered in the Justice League of America and the saying "I only date superheros". Arizona is adamant that this sleepwear is aimed at teenage Bieber fans and she would know because she works in Peds.

Letting out a small chuckle, Callie explains her unusual attire. "My roommate always gets me presents that she actually wants or something completely useless every year for Christmas. I have all the seasons of Dexter because my roommate is a huge fan. These pyjamas were last year's gift because she once saw me once upon a time watch the Green Lantern film. And that was 2 hours of my life that I wasted watching the film anyway. Since these pyjamas were the right size, I feel the need to wear them so I actually get a useful present from her."

"She sounds…interesting," Arizona replies, unsure of what to make of a roommate that knows where to buy such ridiculous sleepwear or the woman that wears them. The sneaky sideways glances between the couple continue and when they meet each other eyes, each woman quickly looks somewhere else.

"So do you want explain what has got you calling me late at night?" Callie finally asks, wondering if Arizona is going to broach the subject that got her acting as a chauffeur.

"Nope, I don't want to talk about it," Arizona quickly responds telling Callie that it would be wise to drop this topic. "But I am interested in learning how did you end up with a T-Bird?" Arizona questions, wanting the conversation to move onto a safer topic.

"You want to talk about my car?" Callie asks, surprised about this turn in the conversation.

"Yes, I want to talk about your car. Because I don't want to talk about _that_," Arizona responds, leaving no room for an argument.

Biting her tongue to prevent a retort about how bottling stuff results in a stomach ulcer, Callie launches into the tale about how she came to be the proud owner of a T-Bird. Although unsure if Arizona is listening, Callie talks for the remainder of the trip back to her apartment about her car, her family and anything else that springs to mind.

It's not until Callie pulls into her street that Arizona breaks her silence. "Why are you taking me to the hospital?" Arizona asks. "I'm not insane and need to be admitted."

"I'm not taking you to the hospital. I'm taking you to my apartment which is across the street," Callie replies as she points to her block. "Unless you want to go to Joe's for a drink?" Callie's add, not wanting to smother Arizona with her presence.

"Oh, your apartment is fine. I'm not really feeling like crowds tonight," Arizona replies, glad that Callie isn't going to throw her out onto the streets. "And that's an awesome commute," which earns her a look from Callie.

Parking her car, Callie leads Arizona up to her apartment. Opening the front door, Callie leads the blonde into her apartment. Arizona examines the apartment and decides that the décor resembles a batcave filled with chrome and dark colours. Being a big fan of beige, Arizona starts to imagine what type of apartment she would like to live in now that she's homeless. Callie stands awkwardly in the door of her own apartment as she observes Arizona.

"Do you want a glass of wine?" Callie asks, knowing that it will help her relax and give her something to do other than feel like an intruder in her own apartment.

"Sure," Arizona replies as Callie busies herself in the kitchen. "So what happened to you?" Arizona asks as she settles down on the couch and takes the offered glass of wine.

"Excuse me?" Callie responds, not understanding the context of the question. Since picking Arizona up, Callie feels as if they have been running rings around each other. Arizona is refusing to discuss the issue at hand and Callie is almost positive that something has transpired between her and Piper. Cars and sleep attire are not the reason that Arizona called Callie – but the blonde's walls are impenetrable.

"In the elevator you said that you understood what I am going through. So who screwed you over?" Arizona asks in a very pointed manner.

"Wow, straight into the deep end," Callie comments as she looks over her wine glass at the blonde. "My ex-husband," Callie answers as she watches Arizona's eyebrows shoot up at this surprising gender. "You didn't expect that did you?" Callie says with a light chuckle as she takes a sip.

"No, that wasn't the response I was expecting since I had assumed you were a gold-star," Arizona replies. "So what happened?"

"Ah…" Callie stutters out, unsure if she wants to share one of her deepest hurts with Arizona. Even though Callie was the one that offered the olive branch of friendship, this topic of conversation is very heavy and isn't something usually shared between mistress and fiancée.

"Come on, it can't be any worse than mine," Arizona says in a light tone, pushing Callie to open up.

"True," Callie agrees and decides to share an abridged version of her pain with the woman with the bluest eyes she has ever seen. "I married someone. He cheated." Callie explains in the briefest way possible.

"What did you do?" Arizona asks, genuinely curious about how Callie responded to this infidelity.

"We got a divorced," Callie replies, omitting the part where she had begged for her husband to choose her over his best friend as she remembers the excruciating pain of a shattered heart. Although no longer having feelings for George O'Malley, Callie knows that she has never truly recovered from that betrayal.

"I'm sorry," Arizona says as a million questions buzz through her mind as to who in their right mind would cheat on the gorgeous woman in front of her.

"It's fine, it happened a long time ago," Callie says, trying to hide her pain. "Our divorce was the only right thing we did in that relationship. A failed relationship isn't the end of the world. But what is important is how you cope," Callie responds, trying desperately to change the subject.

"How did you cope?" Arizona further questions.

"I didn't, so do the exact opposite as what I did and you will be fine." Callie responds somewhat cryptically which raises a number of questions in Arizona's mind. Arizona knows that there is a lot more to this story that meets the eye and the Latina continues to confuse Arizona at every turn.

The silence stretches between the two women as they both dwell on their own personal pain. "I'll set up the couch for you to spend the night," Callie finally says as she gets off the sofa and retreats to her bedroom. Arizona doesn't say anything but concedes that nothing else can be achieved today. Her engagement is over, she's homeless and she's spending the night with the mistress because she has nowhere else to turn. Life can't get any worse from here.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: I'm sorry for the huge gap between updates. But I finally managed to sit down and churn out the next chapter. Thanks for all the reviews from the last chapter and those that PM'd me between then and now to check up on me. **

The feeling of her legs being squashed wakes Arizona from her slumber as she fights against the need to open her eyes. Blindly trying to kick off the reason for her discomfort, Arizona discovers that this object will not be budged. Finally relenting, Arizona opens her eyes and comes face to face with an Asian lady who is sitting on her legs and scowling at her.

"Torres, your bimbo is awake," the woman yells out in the general direction of Callie's room as she sips from the coffee cup in her hands as she shoots a death stare to the blonde she is sitting on. Both occupants of the couch hear the sound of Callie reluctantly getting out of bed from the curse words that are exclaimed as the Latina trips over the various pieces of junk on her floor.

"You're sitting on my legs," Arizona says as she points out the obvious, wondering if this woman is like Sheldon Cooper from the Big Bang Theory who has a particular sitting spot for perfect lighting and air flow with nothing coming between her and the spot. And this includes someone already occupying said spot.

"And you're sleeping on my couch so let's just call us even," the woman replies in an unconcerned tone as if they are talking about the weather.

"I'm sorry…" Arizona manages to stutter out as she tries to get a bearing on this odd situation. "I'll get off the couch if you would be so kind and get off my legs." Arizona adds as she makes the connection that this woman is Callie's roommate who is fond of giving Christmas presents that have no real use for the receiver.

"You snooze, you lose," the woman replies as she settles into her position on the couch and turns slightly to face Arizona. "Out of curiosity, were you that bad in bed that Torres kicked you out? Because that's got to be a first for her because she is usually the Good Samaritan for Seattle's lesbians. Seek and you shall orgasm," the woman says with a completely straight face.

"What? We never slept together," Arizona exclaims in a slightly insulted voice. "I just got out of a very serious relationship and we just met."

"Yeah, that's what they all say. I'll let you come up with a better excuse for why you are so lousy in bed."

"It's true," Arizona replies. "She just gave me a place to stay due to some personal issues outside of my control."

"Yeah, a place to stay - in her pants," comes the reply causing Arizona to scowl in annoyance. "You are_ so_ Torres's type and because of the stream of women coming in and out of this apartment – I know way too many details of what is Torres's type is." the woman replies, already bored with the conversation about her roommate's sex life. Silence settles between the two women as Arizona slowly loses feeling in her lower extremities as the blonde tries to think of a solution to her predicament – both her physical entrapment and her homelessness.

"Yang, I would get off her if I was you," Callie says as she finally stumbles out of her own bedroom and makes a b-line for the coffee machine.

"Why?" Yang questions as she has been secretly enjoying making this woman's morning as uncomfortable as possible. Yang always gets the short end of the straw of hearing way too much from the occupants of Callie's bed and she finally has an opportunity to get her own back.

"Because you are sitting on Doctor Arizona Robbins, the new pediatric surgeon at the hospital and I'm sure she could use a good set of hands on her floor."

"I thought that was what your hands were for," comes Yang's quick quip before her mind can discern the dreaded word of pediatrics from the rest of the sentence. As her mind catches up with her mind, Yang jumps off the couch as if she has been burnt by the woman she had been sitting on. "Oh, I am sorry… you enjoy the couch for as long as you want. In fact, keep the couch if you have enjoyed sleeping on it so much," Yang says with a slight bow. Yang slowly backs away from Arizona as she doesn't want to put her foot in her mouth any more than she already has. There is only one thing worse than being on a Ped's service and that's being part of the Gynecology Brigade. Yang had been sitting on a woman who could make her life a living hell.

Callie lets out of a snort of laughter as Yang scowls as the tables have been well and truly turned. "If I end up on Ped's service, I will make you pay," Yang snarls quietly to her roommate as she stomps to her own room, shutting the door behind her.

"So I see you've met my roommate and it's good to see that you are building a close relationship with your new work colleagues." Callie says as she silently offers Arizona a cup of coffee.

Arizona massages her legs to increase the blood flow to her legs as she nods for a cup of coffee. "What can I say; I have a way with people." Standing up, Arizona takes the offered cup from Callie's outstretched hand and broaches a subject that was so delicately raised by Yang. "So, your roommate seemed to think that I was your latest conquest due to the stream of women that grace your bed," Arizona says with slightly raised eyebrows.

Coughing slightly, Callie feels as if those brilliant blue eyes are staring right into her soul and stripping her bear with the ugly truth of her nocturnal companions shown as clear as day. "Oh, you know Yang, she likes to exaggerate things and stir up trouble," Callie says trying to brush off the veiled question about her past.

"I actually don't know Yang, so please; enlighten me with what she meant." Arizona replies, not letting go of the issue. Callie had been just as evasive about her past last night and although Arizona knows she has no right to question Callie's life choices. But that doesn't stop the nagging feeling that Arizona just needs to know.

"It's like I said last night, just do the exact opposite that I do and you will be fine," Callie cryptically replies for a second time, mirroring the words she uttered last night.

"And what exactly did you do?" Arizona exasperatedly questions as she feels herself becoming increasing confused as this conversation seems to be going in circles.

"Exactly what Yang said," Callie replies as she stares straight at Arizona, daring for the blonde to judge her for her lifestyle choice. "I'm going to take a shower as my shift starts soon. You're welcome to use it after me." Callie says, as she changes the subject and she already knows that she has said too much.

Walking away, Callie doesn't see the confused look on Arizona's face as the blonde's resolve hardens to find out the truth about Callie's past.

Arizona's mission into discovering Callie's past proves to be more difficult than she had expected. As a newbie in the hospital, Arizona only has a rudimentary understanding of the social circle. Arizona had taken to badgering nurses to discern who were Callie's friends and learnt they were the Nazi and the Manwhore

Doctor Bailey, had proven to be highly unhelpful in talking about Torres as once the name had been spoken, the temperature in the corridor had dropped to absolute zero. The death stare that Bailey had leveled at Arizona had made the blonde feel like a six year old being told off for breaking her mother's favorite vase. Bailey had then berated Arizona for not acting in a professional manner and Arizona had obtained firsthand knowledge of why Bailey's nickname had been given to her.

Arizona's second attempt had also crashed and burnt as she had tracked down Callie's supposed best friend – one Mark Sloan. The man started the conversation looking at her face but had ended up staring at her chest which had made Arizona feel uncomfortable. He had also stonewalled Arizona and as he already knew that she was a lesbian, he started to question Arizona's motive. The conversation had taken a sexual turn when he questioned whether she was interested in Callie – because in his own words, "that would be hot". This had caused the man to get a glazed over expression and Arizona knew that his mind had gone to the gutter. Arizona had quickly ended the conversation as she suddenly felt the need to have a shower to wash the sleaze from the Manwhore off herself.

At her wits end, Arizona decided to have one final roll of the dice. "Doctor Yang," Arizona calls out down the hallway as she sees the roommate scurrying away from her like a frightened mouse. "If you have a minute, I was wondering if we could have a chat."

"Ah…I'm a little busy. Surgery," Yang replies over her shoulder, not even breaking her stride.

"No you don't, I checked the board." Arizona answers as Yang finally stops and waits for the bane of her existence to catch up.

"Look, I'm sorry for abusing you this morning but how was I to know that you were a surgeon." Yang says as she wants to get on the front foot in this conversation. "I was clearly wrong as you really aren't Torres's type. Firstly, she never sleeps with people from the hospital anymore." Yang adds as she tries to think of a way to escape from the Ped Surgeon.

"Just stop talking," Arizona cuts in. "I just want to ask you a question about Callie," Arizona adds.

"What's in it for me," Yang replies with a drawl as she realizes that the blonde surgeon is at her mercy. Most of Callie's circle of friends has become fiercely protective of the Latina and wouldn't take well to any nosing about from a new surgeon. However Yang doesn't have that moral dilemma as she lives and breathes surgeries.

"I won't put you on my service which seems like a win-win situation for the both of us," Arizona says as she can easily imagine Yang scaring the sick children on her floor.

"And…" Yang says, knowing that she now holds the upper hand and can get more out of Arizona.

"I'm doing a hole in the heart repair on a three year old tomorrow and you can be first assist." Arizona offers, already knowing that the way to bribe Yang is through her love of the scalpel.

"Deal, so what do you want to know?" Yang asks as she leans against the hospital corridor wall. Yang expected a question about the current Callie Torres – maybe who she was seeing or something like that.

"Tell me the whole truth about Callie's past," Arizona says, deciding there is no point beating around the bush with this woman.

Scoffing slightly, Yang responds, "That's your question? Ask any nurse and they can tell you because the whole hospital knows about that."

"I don't want the gossip, I want the truth. And as her roommate, I'm figuring that you would know the most accurate version of what happened. Sloan stonewalled me and Bailey shot me down, saying that it was none of my business."

"It really isn't any of your business," Yang replies.

"I'll put you on my service for a month," Arizona threatens, needing to know about Callie's past at any cost.

"If that is what you want to know, I'll tell you. But if Torres finds out that I told you I will hurt you because she will break my face. So settle down and I will tell you the story. Torres married O'Malley also known as 007 for his tendency to kill patients in our intern year or Bambi because of the clueless expression that always graces his face."

"The guy who always looks like he is about to cry?" Arizona questions, surprised that Callie could fall in love who seems to be her complete opposite. Arizona had seen O'Malley around the emergency room and hadn't thought there was much of a man to him.

"Yeah that's him, she was head over heels in love with him. He was fond of her kind of like someone is of the nice, little lady down the street," Yang continues as Arizona grimaces slightly as unrequited love is perhaps the greatest distance anyone can fall. "They got married in Vegas and their marriage was a disaster from beginning to end. But the crux of the matter is that he cheated on her with his best friend, Izzie Stevens."

"The resident with who use to be a model?" Arizona queries, making sure that she is putting a name to a face.

"The one and only," Yang answers as she continues to speak. "O'Malley told Callie about his little indiscretion. Torres begged him to choose her as she was willing to forgive him, move on with their lives and their marriage. But O'Malley picked his best friend over his wife and they got a divorce. The failed marriage destroyed all her self-confidence. She became a shell of her former self."

"That's terrible," Arizona exclaims under her breath as she begins to understand why Callie had been so secretive about her past. The Latina did truly understand what Arizona was going through. 'Thanks for telling me and I promise to keep you away from the Ped's floor," Arizona adds as she turns to leave.

"Do you want to know the other half of the story?" Yang asks, realizing that Arizona has no idea about the second heartbreak her roommate suffered.

"There's more? How can there possibly be more?" Arizona questions turning back around, unsure if she even wants to know what other misfortune could have befallen the Latina beauty.

"There's a lot more Blondie. For a while after the relationship after O'Malley, Callie just did the friends with benefits with Sloan. It was the no muss, no fuss relationship where no one could get hurt. But then she started her relationship with Erica Hahn, the Head of Cardiothoracic Surgery here. They went on a Sapphic journey of discovery together and Hahn started to put Torres back together. The badass Torres was coming happen. They were happy in and seeing leaves and crap."

"Hahn? I don't think I've met her yet." Arizona says as she wracks her brain to remember if she has met such a surgeon.

"You wouldn't have because she doesn't work here anymore. They had an argument about a patient's treatment which became an argument about Torres couldn't be kind of gay due to her initial confusion about having feelings for a woman. So Hahn left – simply disappeared. She handed in her resignation without telling Torres and left Seattle. Essentially abandoned Torres."

Arizona's mouth drops open in shock as she realizes her own heartache seems to pale in comparison to this disastrous love life. "She just left?"

"Yeah disappeared into the car park, never to be seen or heard from again. Torres was essentially in a catatonic state for a couple of months after that. Nothing anyone did or said could break her out of it. Sloan was essentially at his wits end as she threw herself into her work. She finally started to having a string of casual relationships and we all started to think she was rebuilding her life. But instead she had a revelation in the form that she doesn't believe in relationships anymore. One heartbreak too many and her walls are simply built too high and no one can get close to her. And that is Torres's story."

"How long ago did all this happen?" Arizona asks.

'The wicked witch of the west left about a year ago. And before you ask, Torres can't be fixed. She's become more emotionally stunted than I am – and that's really saying something." And with that, Yang walks off and leaves Arizona to her thoughts.

XXX

For the remainder of her shift, Arizona's mind churns over all that she had learnt about Callie's past and how it mirrors her own situation. Knowing about Callie's past puts to bed any doubts that Callie could be less than genuine about her concern towards Arizona. And although glad that she now knows, Arizona understands why Callie had been reluctant to share the full story as nothing positive can be gleaned from it. Arizona is pulled out of her musing by a hand being waved in front of her face. Looking up, Arizona becomes face to face with the woman she has been thinking about all day.

"What has got you so deep in thought?" Callie questions.

"My living arrangements," Arizona replies as she pushes her actual thoughts to the back of her mind as Callie doesn't need to know about her nosing around.

"You are welcome to stay at my apartment for as long as you need," Callie offers, having no issues with the blonde occupying her couch for the foreseeable future. And it will annoy Yang to no end so it's definitely a win-win situation.

"Thanks, but I think I will get a hotel room while I find myself an apartment. But I could use your help with something else."

"Anything," comes Callie's quick response.

"I need to go and collect my belongings from my old apartment and I could really use some help," Arizona asks and watches indecision dance across Callie's face. "Piper won't be there and all we have to do is pack up my clothes and medical journals. Piper can keep the rest."

"Ok, I'm in," Callie reluctantly replies, knowing that she can't say no to the woman in front of her - no matter what the consequence is. "My shift's over so we can go now if you'd like," Callie offers, wanting to get this over as soon as possible.

While the couple collects cardboard boxes from a local store, Callie remains quiet and keeps discreetly staring at Arizona. Aware of this observation, Arizona leaves Callie to her thoughts, feeling she has done enough snooping around for one day. Whatever is on Callie's mind will eventually come out.

As they approach the front door of Arizona's apartment, Callie becomes increasingly edgy as she half expecting Piper to jump out at them from around a corner. Unlocking the front door using a key collected from the front desk, Arizona gestures for Callie to enter before her. "Are you absolutely certain she's not going to appear?" Callie cautiously asks as she steps into the apartment that she slunk away from a couple of nights previous. It hadn't been one of Callie's finest moments and she hadn't expected to have to return here so everything about this trip has put her on edge.

"Piper has her billing meeting tonight so she won't be home for hours. All those dollars to count is a lawyer's dream come true," Arizona responds as she pulls the cardboard boxes into the apartment after her. Heading straight towards the bedroom, Arizona wants to get this over and done with as soon as possible. Callie falls into the step behind her but comes to a complete standstill when she sees the bed.

Arizona turns back around and watches Callie fight with herself in the doorway. "It's all right, the bed won't bite. Or me for that matter," Arizona says as Callie looks up at her, hesitancy written all over her face.

"How can you stand to even be around me?" Callie asks in a guilt ridden tone asking the question that bouncing around in her head for a while. Having once been the jilted lover, Callie knew she had never reacted in such a calm and forgiving manner towards Izzie Stevens. In fact, Callie's relationship with Stevens was still frigid at best and both women had silently agreed to stay as far away from each other as possible.

"You didn't do anything wrong. Piper was the one that cheated." Arizona says as she starts to pull clothes out of her cupboard. "And your regret is genuine and I can't hate you for something you didn't know. My relationship was over anyway – long before I found out about you. You just gave me the nudge to finish it. So please stop beating yourself up about it." Arizona adds.

"You're a more forgiving person than I would ever be," Callie replies as she joins Arizona at her side. The two women soon settle into the groove of packing up the blonde's belonging, talking kept to the minimum as both women sink into their memories of the same woman. As time progresses, both women shift to the living room to pack up all of Arizona's medical literature.

A knock at the door breaks the silence of the room and Callie immediately tenses, fearing that Piper has arrived to rain on their parade. Chuckling slightly, Arizona puts Callie's mind at ease. "It's just the pizza that I ordered. I feed my help and anyway, Piper wouldn't knock. She has a key," Arizona says she answers the front door and pays the delivery guy.

"Oh, right," Callie sheepishly replies as Arizona is speaking common sense. Why would Piper knock at the door of her own apartment?

The couple immediately digs into the pizza in front of them as they pack up the rest of Arizona's stuff. Conversation springs up between the couple but the topic remains on neutral topics of surgeries and other medical related subject matter. As the night progresses, Arizona find she can't remember the last time she enjoyed simply talking to someone. Arizona finds that now when she looks at Callie she doesn't see a mistress – but someone who could possibly be her friend.

Suddenly, Callie reaches across and wipes some sauce of the Arizona's face and the blonde freezes instantly. Realizing her mistake, Callie also stops and both women look at each other with startled expressions on their faces. Physical contact isn't something that has happened between the couple until now and Callie feels she may have overstepped a line. Callie begins to panic and wonders what is the world possessed her to touch the blonde – even in such an innocent manner.

Unable to help herself, Arizona starts to giggle at the look on Callie's face as it's as clear as day that the Latina is having a silent conversation with herself – berating herself for her actions. Callie soon follows suit as the blonde's laugh is infectious and the moment passes. Conversation soon springs back up and the final few boxes are packed.

As Arizona closes the final box, a sense of nostalgia washes over her as it truly is the end of her relationship with Piper. But having spent too much time in a doomed relationship already, Arizona refuses to let herself fall further into this rut. "Come on, let's go," Arizona says as she grabs the final box to take down to the car.

"You don't need to have a moment?" Callie asks, expecting a little more emotion from the blonde rather than her steely resolve.

"Nope, I've already spilt too many tears for that woman and there is no reason to spill anymore." Arizona replies as she shuts the door behind her. Shrugging her shoulders, Callie follows after the blonde as she tries to decipher the enigma that is Arizona Robbins.


	5. Chapter 5

The closure of her relationship with Piper seemed to have opened a multitude of new doors for Arizona. She had quickly become a part of Callie's life – although just in a purely platonic way. Whatever hatchet that could have, and probably should have, existed between the two women was well and truly buried. They never talked about how they met as in their current state of homeostasis, it simply didn't factor into their relationship. Having someone to lean on had a profound impact on Arizona's state of mind after spending so long in the isolated world of Piper. Having a person to talk to, bounce ideas off and socialise with outside work allowed Arizona to re-build her shattered life and return to her pre-Piper days. Piper's actions had left a gaping wound that was yet to heal and sometimes Arizona would still find herself unconsciously noting down something she needed to tell her ex-partner. But as the days past, this became less and less often and this was quickened by the fact that Arizona hadn't looked back – and never would.

But the impact of this surprising friendship wasn't just restricted to Arizona. Callie's wandering eye had also come to a grinding halt. That emptiness of not having someone "to have and to hold" had been filled by a friendship Callie never saw coming. Surprising Callie further was the fact she didn't find herself missing the tumbles all that often. Sure the physical side of things was a bit of a lose, Callie wasn't kidding herself but the loneliness, although still there, had ebbed away into a manageable amount. By no means was Arizona putting her heart back together, but Callie felt she was deviating from her somewhat unhealthy lifestyle. Although Mark claimed she had gotten weak, but who he kidding, Mark doesn't know the first thing about relationships.

Leaning against the ER counter, Callie finds herself thinking about the blonde and couldn't stop herself from letting out a small grin. Arizona was perky, cheerful and sometimes downright annoying – but there were certainly no dull moments when she was about. The two women had plans to tonight – plans that involved a lot of food and a good bottle of wine. Callie simply had to handle any ortho patients that came into the ER and then she was free. No muss, no fuss, Callie muses to herself.

But that Latina has the nagging feeling that something isn't right in the world and Callie intends to get the bottom of it.

"Stevens, what do you want?" Callie growls out as she stares at the scans just handed to her by an intern. The fracture in the right arm requires an air-cast to prevent further damage and Callie really didn't want Izzie becoming her resident for the remainder of her shift. The ex-model had been flitting around Callie all day like an annoying fly that no matter how much you swatted, always came back. Not liking the blonde at the best of times, this behaviour was starting to get on Callie's nerves. The bad blood between the two women meant that they both kept their distance from each other.

"I was wondering if you could consult on a patient I have," Izzie finally stutters out, seemingly quite nervous about talking to Callie – and with good reason.

Grunting a non-committal response, Callie gestures for Izzie to lead the way. Walking towards a consult room, Callie finds herself subconsciously humming the tune to "Eye of the Tiger" under her breath. Quickly stopping, Callie chastises herself as this really isn't the time to go all Rocky on Stevens. Stepping into a consult room, Callie comes face to face with a myriad of scans lining the wall and countless others on the bench. "This patient must have amazing health insurance," Callie comments as she starts to work her way around the room.

The patient's health issue becomes crystal clear as Callie moves from scan to scan. The cancerous lesions on the patient's brain are numerous. Although no expert on oncology, Callie knows this patient's cancer is advanced and an aggressive treatment plan is required. But as she looks at the scans, Callie becomes increasingly confused. This patient doesn't have bone cancer – in fact the patient doesn't have anything wrong with their skeletal structure.

"So here's the million dollar question, why are you showing me this?" Callie asks, knowing that Izzie should know how move forward with this patient – organise an oncology consult and ship the patient up to their ward.

"This is a Patient X who has finally been diagnosed and recently had a second set of scans taken…and…I need to know a treatment plan," Izzie responds.

"I'm not oncology," Callie replies, stating something that even Izzie would be aware of. Callie has been the "bone chick" for years and has never shown as inkling of interest in oncology.

"Humour me," Izzie responds as she stares at the scans of the patient's brain. Izzie's demeanour raises a red flag as it appears that Izzie is emotional attached to this patient. And everyone knows how Izzie's emotional attachments end – LVAD wires cut and hearts' transplanted into patients they aren't intended for.

"Brain surgery to remove the tumours followed by aggressive chemotherapy," Callie responds, "Although you really should talk to someone in the oncology department. I'm no expert. Page Shepherd."

"Success rate?" Izzie asks, in a somewhat fearful voice, pushing on with her questioning.

"Less than 5%," Callie replies, not sugar coating the statistics. "Who's the patient? Because this cancer is quite advanced."

"Someone close."

Watching Izzie's face fall causes all the puzzle pieces to come together. The weirdness that Izzie has been displaying all day, the phantom Patient X that has had the residents' running around the hospital like headless chooks and the bizarreness of the day has suddenly all fallen into place.

"It's you," Callie exclaims as she realises Izzie's previous statement had a geographical meaning as well. "You're Patient X, the patient that the interns have been running around trying to diagnose." With a slight nod of her head, Izzie finally admits to a truth that she has barely admitted to herself. "Why are you telling me this?" Callie asks, believing that she is the last person that Izzie Stevens would ever confide in.

"I don't know what to do," Izzie says as she finally lifts her head to look at Callie. "So I need someone to tell me what to do," she pleads as she forces herself to look at the scans that show her body is riddled with cancer.

"But why _me_?" Callie asks, knowing that Izzie is placing a terrible burden on her, a burden that she is not sure she can carry. So many people in the hospital love and respect Izzie Stevens as a doctor and as a human being – but Callie isn't one of them. The scans don't lie - Izzie Stevens is dying unless something drastic happens.

"Because I need a doctor – not a friend," Izzie admits. "You will just look at the facts unlike the rest of our friends. Bailey will yell at me for waiting so long, George will probably cry and say everything will be fine as he looks at me with those deer eyes, Yang will ask if she can operate on me and Alex…" Izzie breaks off as she thinks of her boyfriend who has no idea that she is terminally ill. "I don't even know if I should tell them," Izzie says in a hushed voice. "I'm dying."

"You aren't dying Izzie and I refuse to be your secret keeper Izzie," Callie pleads, not knowing if Izzie truly understands what she is asking of her. "And they _need_ to know. You can't keep this to yourself. You should never have told me unless you plan to fight this with every cell in your body. If you aren't planning to fight, walk out of this hospital right now and never look back – because that will be the less painful option for everyone that loves you. They can't let our hands just idle as you die in front of us."

"Please…" Izzie begs.

"We're surgeons Izzie. We fix broken bodies. We put people back together. They, _we_, can't just leave our hands idle." Callie exclaims, not caring that she is berating an ill woman. "Isabelle Stevens, pull your head out of your arse and tell them the truth and so something!"

"It's too hard…and I see Denny. It's like he's waiting for me to leave. It's like he knows that I'm going to die. He's my own personal omen of death," Izzie stammers out.

"This conversation has taken a sixth sense turn," Callie mutters causing Izzie to look confused.

"I know the statistics, you know the statistics…" Izzie begins to say.

"Don't think about the statistics, don't hope it miraculously disappears, do something! At least you can say 'I did this, I tried, I fought on. At least I did something.'" Callie passionately pleads.

Maybe common sense had finally prevailed or maybe something what Callie said struck a chord, but Izzie Stevens gets a little bit of fight back in her eye.

"Ok, I'll consider my options. I know I have no right to ask this of you. I just need some time…to talk this over with someone. To medically know all my options. You can give me that at least?" The blonde begs.

Unable to say no to a friend (although that term is being applied loosely), Callie reluctantly agrees to be Izzie Steven's confidant. "So, I'm your doctor slash confidant?" Callie questions, making sure she understands what Izzie is asking her. Being the doctor to a friend causes the doctor-patient confidentiality to become a grey area.

"Yes. Can you examine the scans and give me your honest opinion? And please keep this to yourself until I'm ready." Nodding her head in agreement, Callie adds one final thing, "Maybe ask Denny to give you some space? After all, I'm not sure if Alex could deal with the competition," causing the blonde to let out a small grin.

"I'll leave you to it then," Izzie says as she exits the room, watch Izzie walk away, leaving behind a killer secret and a deathly silence.

The rest of her shift passes as a blur for Callie. Her mind is still on those scans as Callie starts to search medical journals for a miracle. Her plans with Arizona have slipped from Callie's mind as she focusses entirely on the medical dilemma prancing around the hospital. Izzie seems to have bounced back after admitting to her deadly secret and seems to be in no rush to seek treatment.

Arriving home, Callie remains in her own little world of scans, medical journals and statistics. Staring hour after hour, the words start to jumble together and a headache starts to form behind Callie's eyes. But the Latina doesn't rest for a moment, instead just moves to the next journal and keeps searching for that needle in the haystack. So oblivious to anything else, Callie doesn't hear the knocking at her apartment door.

Standing on the other side of the door, Arizona knocks with increased fever at the longer she gets no response. It is very unlike Callie to forget about their plans and this silence has the blonde worried. Finally trying the door knob, Arizona finds the door open and slips inside the apartment. Seeing Callie seating on the coach surrounded by scans causes Arizona to become ever more confused. "What are you doing?" Arizona asks.

"Shit, what are you doing here?" Callie exclaims in a voice that sounds harsher than she intended as she sweeps as many of the scans back into an envelope.

"We had plans."

"Don't you knock instead of just waltzing in here?" Callie replies, still holding onto her accusatory tone as she cleans up the mess around her. A look of hurt flits across Arizona's face as she becomes under attack from Callie.

"I can go if you want," Arizona softly offers, not wanting to intrude on whatever has Callie no flustered and short of temper.

Taking a deep breath to calm her nerves, Callie knows that she shouldn't be attacking Arizona when Izzie is the person acting stupidly. "No. Stay. I just forgot you were coming. Sorry I snapped. And I could do with a break anyway," Callie replies, as she finally stands and approaches the blonde, offering a sincere apology for her behaviour.

"You were being a bitch," Arizona replies, not letting Callie off the hook just yet.

"Work was difficult today," Callie mumbles which is the understatement of the year.

"Patient troubles?" Arizona asks, picking up a set of scans sitting on the coffee table. Her movement causes Callie to make a desperate grab for the envelope knocking the two women over onto the floor. An exclamation of shock rings out around the room as Arizona's breathe whooshes from her body by Callie's weight on her. Focussed solely on the scans, Callie snatches them out of Arizona's hands and rolls off the blonde's body and retreats to the safe haven of the couch.

Leaning up on her elbows, Arizona yells "What the hell Callie!"

"Haven't you ever heard of doctor-patient confidentiality? Who give you the right to just willy-nilly search through my stuff," Callie rants as she watches Arizona still on the floor.

"I'm a doctor you gigantic idiot so that argument is null and void," Arizona replies.

Taking a deep breath, Callie knows that she is blowing this way out of proportion. Izzie's cancer seems to be incurable and Callie is at her wits end. "Are you alright?" Callie asks in a calmer voice, again realising that she will have to apologies for her behaviour.

"Am I alright? I was just shoulder charged by a crazy Latina!" Arizona sarcastically responds as she pulls herself off the ground and gingerly stands.

"Sorry."

"Sorry? That's all you have to say. What the hell is wrong with you?" Getting no response, Arizona feels her temper begin to boil at Callie's evasiveness. "Whatever. I have better things to do. Have a nice evening," Arizona snaps as she heads towards the door.

"No, wait," Callie says, blocking Arizona's retreat. "I just…" Callie starts to say as she runs her hand through her hair in worry. A cocked eyebrow from Arizona causes Callie to relinquish the scans that she had just tried so hard to protect.

Taking them from Callie's hand, Arizona asks "You aren't going to tackle me? Shoulder charge me?"

"Ha ha," Callie replies sarcastically. "Can you just tell me what you think?"

Pulling the scans out, Arizona comes face to face with a brain full of cancer. "Oh my gosh! It's… everywhere," Arizona exclaims without a lot of tact. "Sorry, that came out wrong." Silence settles between the couple as Arizona looks at the rest of the scans. "Why do you have what is clearly an oncology patient's scans?"

Callie decides that she needs to come clean and explain her behaviour. For all the research that Callie has done, she had been increasingly depressed about Izzie's chances of survival. Callie needs a sounding board for this dilemma. "I have a friend…" Callie begins, using that common starting point of a lie.

"Oh my God! These are your scans," Arizona exclaims, thinking Callie is using that well used "lie" line for a reason.

"What? No."

"You have cancer and I just yelled at you. And I invaded your privacy. I'm a terrible friend," Arizona rambles out. "It's ok, if you don't what to tell me the truth. I can leave," Arizona replies, focussing on the woman she believes is dying.

"I **do not** have cancer," Callie says in a slow voice, making it perfectly clear that she is telling the truth. "The scans belong to Izzie Stevens, she hasn't told anyone other than me. And now I have told you."

"Why did Izzie Stevens tell you?"

"Because she's scared. She's burying her head in the sand. And I don't know what to do about this huge, life changing secret. I've poured over these scans for hours. Talked to specialists, called in favours. No one thinks it's curable," Callie replies as she slumps back on the couch. "She's dying Arizona."

"And that's not your fault," Arizona says as she joins Callie on the lounge.

"Then why does it feel like it is," Callie heartbrokenly says. "She came to me. Wanting help, to be told that there was a solution. But I've found nothing."

Arizona has no response to this and treating family is perhaps the most heartbreaking aspect of being a surgeon. Some people are simply too sick to be saved and a surgeon dies a little bit on the inside when they can't be cured. "So, what are you going to do?"

"_We_", Callie says as she emphasising that this is now a joint effort, "are going to come up with a fool proof treatment plan for our reluctant patient."

"How did I get dragged into this?" Arizona asks.

"You were nosy so consider it your punishment to try and save someone's life. I refuse to stand by and let Izzie give up the fight. Because I won't be the only one who won't be able to forgive me."

"Well, I have a friend that went through residency with me at John Hopkins. He ended up specialising in oncology. He's a bit of a whiz kid. I'll call him and send the scans through. He's the guy who will come up with the plan."

"Get on that phone girl," Callie responds as the fire is re-lit in her eyes now that there is a strategy. While Arizona places the call, Callie orders a pizza. After a brief conversation, Arizona gives the thumbs up to indicate that the mission is off to a flying start.

Over pizza, the two surgeons pore over the multitude of scans that Stevens seems to have attained of herself. "Has she even seen an oncology specialist?" Arizona asks.

"Not that I'm aware of," Callie replies as she hands the blonde a slice of pizza. "Izzie is pretending that she doesn't have life-threatening disease."

"Ok, so there is one more thing I don't really understand…Izzie Stevens, a woman that you don't particularly like, has what looks to be pretty darn close to incurable cancer has confided in you. But she doesn't want you to do anything and much prefers to prance around the hospital, acting as if she doesn't have a care in the world. While her boyfriend, my intern, has no idea. And Steven's best friend, who also happens to be your ex-husband, also remains oblivious." As Arizona speaks, a look of confusion passes across Callie's face.

"I never told you that I don't like Stevens and some of that other stuff…" Callie says in bemusement.

Realising she has put her foot in her mouth, Arizona quickly tries to cover her tracks. "You know what the hospital is like, everyone talks about everyone. And you Torres, are a very popular topic of conversation."

"I wish I wasn't" Callie grumbles under her breath. "I honestly don't find my life that interesting."

Keen to change the topic of conversation, Arizona adds, "I think you need to get Izzie to an oncologist. It seems like the next logical step."

"And how exactly am I supposed to do that? I can't exactly make an appointment for her as she won't show up. And she won't go near the Oncology Wing at Seattle Grace as she'll know that I'm up to something. Essentially I'm left with kidnapping."

"You could always shoulder charge her," Arizona lightly adds.

"You aren't helping." Callie replies. "It's like I need to throw a surprise party but instead of a birthday cake, there is an oncologist there."

"Ok, weird visualisations going on over here, but that might work."

"Excuse me?" Callie asks, shocked at Arizona's response. "Did you just say that my surprise party idea might work, because I was just joking and my next suggestion was going to be sedation."

"Well, a surprise party won't work in its current form. But the idea is sound. Steven's isn't ready to face any decisions, so essentially you have to force her to attend an appointment. And let's just put sedation down as a plan B for now." Arizona adds as she lightly pats Callie's knee.

"Ok…" Callie says as she secretly suspects that the blonde has finally lost her mind.

"Here's the plan, do you know anyone at Mercy West who might help you with this little project."

"Ah sure, the Head of Ortho, he keeps offering me a job. So I guess I can call in a favour."

"Ok, so get him to call the Chief and say that he requests you and another resident for a surgery over at Mercy West. So, you and Steven's waltz over there with Steven's expecting to be part of an amazing surgery."

"I don't get it."

"Hold your horses' woman, give me a chance to tell you the whole plan."

"But there won't be a surgery."

"I know that," Arizona replies in a slow voice as if she's speaking to a small child, "And you'll know that but Steven's won't know that. So when you and Steven's arrive at Mercy West, you lead her to a consult room where a pre-arranged oncologist is waiting."

A look of understanding passes over Callie's face as she comprehends the plan. "Oh, my gosh, you are a genius!" Callie exclaims, and she pulls Arizona's face towards her and smacks a kiss on her lips. As Callie runs the plan through her head, she doesn't see the look of shock on Arizona's face as the blonde lightly touches her own lips. No one had kissed Arizona since Piper and those intimate embraces had turned out to be pretty hollow.

"Yes, yes I am," Arizona manages to stutter out.

"Are you alright? You've suddenly gone all pale," Callie asks, as she looks at the blonde.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Don't you have a phone call to make?"

"Oh yes," Callie says as she stands up and heads towards her phone to place the call to the Head of Ortho at Mercy West. "I think we need an operational name for this plan."

"Oh, what do you suggest?" Arizona asks, trying to remain focussed on the sounds of Callie's voice rather than the jumble of thoughts racing through her mind.

"Operation switch-a-roo," Callie replies over her shoulder as if there was no other alternative. "And let the games begin."


End file.
